Museum hosts exhibit on history of Henry Ford Health System

DETROIT (AP) _ The Detroit Historical Museum is hosting an exhibit about the evolution and growth of Henry Ford Health System during the past century.

“Henry Ford Health System: 100 Years Measured in Life” opened Saturday and is on display through Jan. 3, 2016, at the museum in the city’s Midtown area. The exhibit starts in 1915, with auto pioneer Henry Ford taking control of the stalled 48-bed Detroit General Hospital project that would become Henry Ford Hospital.

The exhibit includes 100 stories of transforming health and life. An event featuring hospital officials and a member of the Ford family took place Thursday afternoon. The museum is open 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Hospital officials say Ford originally planned to invest in a hospital, not own one. But when construction stalled after groundbreaking, he bought out the other investors and finished the job with his wife, Clara. Clara Ford also contributed personal money and pushed for the creation of a psychiatric unit.

The hospital’s innovations also include being the nation’s first to use purified heparin to treat blood clots and developing the first liquid oxygen tent, officials said. It also established the state’s first blood vessel bank.

Henry Ford Health System, anchored by Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, serves a five-county area, and its services and research are known internationally.